On Boards Podcast

Leading a world class board is one of the single most important things startup CEOs can do to help their businesses thrive and become industry leaders. Matt Blumberg is  the author of Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, the second edition of which was published last year, and Startup CXO, the sequel to Startup CEO, coming out in May, and also the co-author of the second edition...

Cathy Minehan has been an active for profit and not for profit board member of a variety of entities over many and worked for 39 years with the Federal Reserve System, including as the President and Chief Executive of the Boston Bank Chapter.  In this episode she talks about the momentum of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and the focus by business on long-term issues that will lead to l...

Bob Sherman has served as the United States Ambassador to Portugal. He is a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and serves on board of Novo Banco, a US PE-backed bank based in Portugal.  In this episode he shares his journey in the Obama campaign and then the Biden campaign and through that lens shares what he believes boards and companies should expect from the new Biden administrati...

Paul Ayoub has served as the chair of several boards, including two significant nonprofit organizations, and is about to become the chair of the board of the largest nonprofit health care organization in the country, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  In this episode he shares his views on board composition, the relationship between the board chair and CEO and the critical importance of diver...

Didier Cossin is the founder and director of IMD Global Board Center based in Switzerland, where he works with owners, boards, and senior leaders to enhance organizational performance using strategy, best-in-class decision-making and enhancing board culture and governance best practices In this episode he talks about creating a high performance thru enhancing board culture, fostering constructive...

James Lam is a globally recognized risk expert, an early advocate of Enterprise Risk Management and the first-ever Chief Risk Officer.  He has served as a director and chair of the risk oversight and audit committees of both publicly and private companies. James was a commissioner for the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on board oversight of disruptive risk.  In this episode he shares his most current...

Mohamad Ali is the CEO of International Data Group (IDG, Inc.), a private technology media, events and research company. He has also served as CEO of a publicly traded company and has served on many public, private, and nonprofit boards. In this episode, Mohamad shares what he has learned about being a good board member as well as the intricacies of boards through his wide range of experience on b...

Dede Orraca-Cecil is a member of Egon Zehnder, an international executive search and leadership advisory firm, where she leads efforts in almost every aspect of what a company or organization needs in leadership and governance. She talks about identifying company leadership and board building – what it takes and how the conversation has changed.   Thanks for listening ! We love our listeners! Drop...

Diane Hessan is successful entrepreneur, CEO, author and has been highly recognized for the broad range of impactful work she has done.  And she has served on virtually every type of company board and seen the work of the board from many perspectives.  In the fascinating conversation, she shares her insight and opinion on the experience of running and serving on a board.   Thanks for listening ! W...

Ed Pendergast has served on numerous boards - public, private, and nonprofits - for more than 40 years.  Very few people have had the opportunity to serve on such a broad range of boards over such a long period of time as Ed, and for good reason.  He is the consummate board member.  Armed with a deep understanding of business finance and operations, and what it takes to be an effective board membe...

David R. Koenig has been fascinated by and focused on understanding risk virtually his entire life and is recognized as a global leader on the governance of risk.  He has held executive and board positions, published across multiple media (including 2 books: Governance Reimagined and The Board Members Guide to Risk ), founded the DCRO (The Director's and Chief Risk Officers Group),  co-founded PRM...

Ian Sheridan has been innovating in the financial world, in a variety of roles, for many years.  He has brought that innovative mindset to the venture fund where he is a managing partner, Vestigo Ventures.  In this episode of On Boards we discuss the fascinating approach in the use of data they employ in making investment decisions and to how they work on the boards with the entrepreneurs that lea...

David Rosen has been a CEO, served in other C-suite capacities has served as a board member and is a life-long entrepreneur – and has developed a passion about the importance of boards in private companies.  As a result, helped found the Boston Chapter of The Private Directors Association (PDA), a national organization whose focus is to support the owners, board directors, investors, and C -suite...

Episode Description Larry Stybel talks what a board need to do to really do its job properly and the critical role of the Nomination/Governance Committee in that process.  Do we have the right talent on this board?  Are the board members sufficiently educated to handle their fiduciary responsibilities? And does the board understand that it has primary responsibility for defining the corporate cult...

Planning for a crisis is not a luxury and boards must be a very good at crisis management - we're seeing just how important that is right now.  For this topic, we've assembled an incredibly experienced panel - our first panel episode - to delve into the role that boards are playing, and must play, during a crisis.  Jay Lorsch Bio Jay Lorsch is the Louis E. Kirstein Professor of Human Relations at...

George Davis has been a trusted advisor to multinational, public sector and private equity backed organizations seeking guidance on critical boardroom issues for many years.   We discuss with him what boards of directors need to do in a crisis, how this crisis is different from those in the past and what it may mean in the future for companies and the boards that serve them.   Thanks for listening...

Joe Baerlein, a nationally known strategic communication advisor for some of the country's largest companies, trade associations, large non-for-profits, talks about what matters: always consider the long-term impact on the company's brand and reputation - and never be afraid of providing truthful information or being proactive about providing it.   Thanks for listening ! We love our listeners! Dro...

John Hession, legal advisor, business advisor and angel investor, holds the world land record for number of board meetings attended.   He's been working with emerging growth companies for over 35 years and he has seen it all.   He talks about the discipline, tough love and results required if investor backed companies are going to be successful.   It is a message that all boards would benefit from...

Beth Boland is a force to be reckoned with.  Named one of Massachusetts "most influential lawyers," Beth was first initiated into the world of shareholder defense working as a clerk for a district judge on the Mike Milken and Ivan Boesky cases. Now chair of Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice at Foley & Lardner LLP , she also serves as President of the New England chapter of the National...

Yvonne Schlaeppi is passionate about corporate strategy, and she believes it's one of the most important things a board can do for their company. Spending a significant amount of time on board work, across many companies and several continents, Yvonne is highly experienced and enthusiastic in her work as a board member.   Having built a strong background working on boards in the U.S., UK and Europ...

It's easy to think of companies as big, faceless organizations, valued only for profit margins or stock potential. But it's precisely when organizations are viewed only by the numbers, and not by the people working within them, that company culture suffers and things can go south. Rick Williams knows that the key to success is creating an atmosphere of openness and trust that makes for a great boa...

Episode Overview Larry Siff joins hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh to explore what makes a board of directors effective and productive, what qualities makes a strong and valuable board member and how can a board add value to and help drive a business to achieve its goals.     Larry has deep and extensive board experience, both as a board member, averaging 6 board seats a year for over 30 years, and...

Co-hosts Raza Shaikh and Joe Ayoub discuss the January 2020 launch of their podcast On Boards Podcast: A Deep Dive at Driving Business Success.     A company's Board of Directors or Advisors often has a pivotal role in the success or failure of a business, whether a company or organization lives or dies - - and whether the people who have invested time, money and emotional capital will succeed.  ...